And I saw myself
I went for a meeting today and saw someone secretly examining my Lagos Tube Map in their office, sent via email. It just goes to show the subversive/transformative power of images and the unpredictable paths they may forge. Who knows what dreams are made in this way? Transformation of society begins with a transformation in the way we imagine that society - there is no deeper truth.
How about taking that most ambivalent of objects -the Nigerian passport - and turning it, through creative means, into the most positive statement of a progressive Nigerian identity? Nigerian cool, anyone?
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16 comments:
Ok, now i'm a little afraid..bit like Rumpelstilstkin might have felt if he'd known before hand that the tailor/miller/weaver/whateva's daughter had discovered his identity, BEFORE he stood before her,crowing, daring her to reveal his identity, fully expecting her not to, expecting instead to win his prize, her child... i did send your lag map around, but so did a lot of people... it came back to me too. and btw, just for the record, i saw a similar tube map of london had the Huns won Double U Double U II. Can anyone spell plagiarism?
Or even better, someone should re-design our hideous, unambitious and uninspiring flag!
Easy enough, surely.
Good luck turning the Nigerian passport into a badge of honour..
Anon, are you saying Jeremy plagiarised?
Jeremy, I don't understand what the 1st Anonymous is saying o... Maybe I'm not sharp, but clarify, abeg.
Jeremy,
You seem to have another of those identity surfers creeping over your blog again.
I most certainly did not leave the comment at 10:09pm.
You of all people know I do not ask questions of anonymous people. If I'm in a good mood, I might take some time out to insult them... but nothing more.
I wonder how many other comments on this blog have been written by someone pretending to be me.
Hey Kemi Imposter,
Why are you pretending to be me. I"M ME!!!
Kemi-10.51 pm and Kemi-1.53 am, you are both very silly for trying to pretend to me.
Jeremy, you really should do something about these idiots.
The Nigerian passport. I shudder just thinking about it. Reminds me of the wahala it just brought me on my recent trip to the West Indies. I had to blog about that pali twice!
Nothing much can be done about Nigerian passports until Nigeria's reputation improves. I am again stating that we need better PR. But, oh well.
Have you seen any of the iRep Naija images? They should be given out for free all over the world.
Very true about the power of imagery. And on that note, is it possible to mail me photos of the ex-governors who are now residents of Kuje?
This blog is so much fun! I love the way generally the more people get in on the conversation, the more the first argument gets lost in the discourse, the more personal the attacks become, the more off point the arguments etc.. This bit with the first Kemi thinking another Kemi is an imposter is so incredibly wild and narcissistic ( uh, helooOO?!!-Kemi, "Kemi" is not exactly an unusual name like (for arguments's sake , RUMPELSTILTSKIN, or even, uh... Beyonce (lets just take this into the gutter)"girlfight! girlfight" But wait, can it be? Could there be a third Kemi on this illustrious blog? LooooOVe it.. you couldnt make this stuff up. C'mon Kemi's of the world, UNITE! :) ( oh, and i expect the usual charge of choosing to remain anonymous as cowardice etc etc, and by jove, you are right. i'm trembling as i type). Happy Weekend evrybody! ( and No, I am not part of the Nigerian Police Force). oh, and back to my earlier comments, not saying Jeremy plagiarized at all.. just saying a lot of pop culture things have a way of going round and round and coming back in slightly different forms, and its all good. just really a sign of the information age in which we find ourselves.
When did Kemi become a name for only one person.As far as I know,Kemi is not a name to be monopolised and there are many people with that name.
Fashola was on the Nigerian television channel in London on Monday (BEN TV) and he spoke well.
He actually spoke about getting a rail system in his tenure and that it would be something he would want to personally be held accountable for. Try and get your idea to him.
Nigerian Cool? What do you think people like Amplyfied crew with their "Naija until I die" song and JJC and the 419 Squad's entire album did? There is so much positive Nigerian branding going on by young people and even the old sef - BHF Magazine, IHaute Magazine.
And the Designers Deola Sagoe, Kosibah, IRep T-Shirts, Toni Payne. there are a whole lot of people involved in Naija cool images.
http://bellanaija.blogspot.com/2007/02/teez-me.html#comments
Even Bella Naija and Naija Vixen.
And as much as we hate Ovation Magazine, they definitely started the whole "let's show the prosperous, "cool" Nigerian side of things.
I believe an overland rail system could be possible and less capital intensive. There have been several project proposed in return for Oil acerage to chinese enrgy and engineering companies.
Lagos at the moment needs a lot of things, roads, electricity, employment and security(especially today).
I believe the future is bright but the rate of change has to be rapid and equally as important as the designation of funds towards these problems the execution and maintenance of the infrastructures should be put at a forefront.
And to the egotistical vermin calling "itself" Kemi, if you have nothing positive to contribute i would advise you to go on the organ donation list so your presence on this rock we call earth can have some benefit!
Anonymous Olu!!
PreaaccchhH!!!! I agree!! though i also agree that this movement has already begun...ie the Crazy amount of Naija T-shirts, young naija artists,naija fashion... naija blogs etc
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